The Work Autonomy Scales: Additional Validity Evidence

Recently, Breaugh (1985) developed an instrument that measures three facets, i.e., method, scheduling, and criteria, of work autonomy. This paper presents the results of several analyses designed to evaluate the construct validity of these work autonomy scales. One set of analyses involved the use of confirmatory factor analysis to assess the underlying factor structure of the three work autonomy facet measures. Both indices for assessing the fit of a theoretical model confirmed that a three-facet autonomy model clearly fits the sample data. A second set of analyses involved subgroup comparisons. As predicted, unionized employees reported less autonomy in all three areas than non-union workers. Also as hypothesized, individuals in supervisory positions reported having more autonomy than those not in supervisory positions. The paper also reports a number of additional analyses relevant to the construct validity of the work autonomy scales. When the results reported in this paper are taken in combination with those reported in Breaugh (1985) and Breaugh and Becker (1987), there is substantial evidence supporting both the construct validity and the importance of the work autonomy facet scales.